Empty leg flights to and from Stockholm

Stockholm is the Swedish capital and one of the largest business centres in the Nordic countries, built on islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. It is the home of Ericsson, H&M, Spotify and Investor AB, and of the Nobel Prize. Two airports take private flights. Bromma, code BMA, lies about 7 kilometres north west of the centre and now serves almost only business aviation, while Arlanda, code ARN, is Sweden's main international airport about 37 kilometres to the north and is open around the clock. Flying time from London is roughly 2h 25m.

Bromma closes at 22:00 on weekdays, at 17:00 on Saturdays and does not open until noon on Sundays, and its long term future is under review, so the choice of airport shapes every Stockholm trip.

Stockholm sectors available today

The first list below shows every sector we hold into or out of Bromma and Arlanda; when both are quiet, it adds flights at Skavsta and Västerås instead. Underneath it, a table of ordinary charter fares for the same aircraft on your own dates shows how much every released flight saves.

Why Stockholm produces empty legs

Stockholm lies about two and a half hours from most British airports, too far for a crew to wait cheaply and close enough for a two day business trip. Five local conditions turn a large share of private flights to the city into sectors that fly one way without passengers.

Released flights turn up most often on the Monday to Friday links with London and Scotland, and leisure traffic adds the most between June and August, with short winter peaks around the Nobel week and Stockholm Design Week. Business sectors are fewest around New Year and in July, when the city's offices close for the summer, although leisure flights keep July busy.

Stockholm Bromma and Arlanda airports in detail

King Gustaf V opened Bromma on 23 May 1936, and for a quarter of a century it was the capital's main airport. International flights moved to Arlanda after it opened on 1 April 1962, and in the 2020s the domestic airlines followed, so Bromma today works as a business aviation airport with a handful of regional routes, such as those to Trollhättan and Växjö. Arlanda is Sweden's largest airport and the hub of SAS. Both belong to the state company Swedavia.

For crews Stockholm is a straightforward destination with two well equipped airports half an hour apart. Winters bring snow and freezing fog from November to March, de icing is available at both, and Arlanda has a policy of never closing for snowfall. The real constraint is Bromma's timetable: a flight from Britain must land and leave within its hours, and any delay near 22:00, or 17:00 on a Saturday, pushes the departure to Arlanda. Each airport is the natural alternate for the other, with Skavsta and Västerås further out.

The long term future of Bromma is open. In October 2024 the City of Stockholm gave notice that its agreement with Swedavia will end on 31 December 2038, as it wants to build homes on the site. The government has so far refused an earlier closure and in 2025 appointed an inquiry into the state's airports and Bromma's role, due to report by 30 September 2026. Until any decision takes effect, business jets use Bromma as normal, and we always keep Arlanda in the plan.

Stockholm's private jet handlers: lounges, border checks and bags

Private passengers in Stockholm are received by independent FBOs, each with its own building and lounge, rather than in one shared terminal, and the police and customs come to them there.

How we plan a Stockholm flight

• Bromma or Arlanda. We match the airport to the aircraft size, the arrival and departure times and the day of the week.
• Slots on confirmation. Arrival and departure slots go in as one request on the day the aircraft is booked.
• A margin before closing. For Bromma we plan departures well ahead of 22:00, or 17:00 on Saturdays, and keep Arlanda as the fallback.
• Pets through Arlanda. A flight carrying a dog or cat from Britain lands at Arlanda, where it can be declared to Swedish Customs.
• The ground plan. Your driver, Arlanda Express tickets or an island boat are booked in the same step as the flight.

Four things to know before booking Stockholm

Most Stockholm bookings hinge on the following points, which we check before holding a jet.

From the airport to Stockholm, the suburbs and the archipelago

Bromma sits almost inside the city, while Arlanda lies among the fields to the north, closer to Sigtuna and Uppsala. The times below are for a car outside the rush hour; the Arlanda Express train reaches Stockholm Central in about 18 minutes.

The archipelago has around 30,000 islands, and in summer the fastest way to a private island house is often a boat or a seaplane from the city. For skiing, a jet can continue to Åre Östersund Airport in about an hour, and for Almedalen Week on Gotland, Visby Airport lies about 190 kilometres to the south.

What else you pay on a Swedish trip

The jet is by far the largest cost of a Stockholm trip; airport charges add a small sum, and most operators include them.

Air Passenger Duty is charged when the jet leaves the UK. In the 2026 to 2027 tax year the Band A charge on a private jet is 32 GBP a passenger from 5.7 to 20 tonnes and 142 GBP at 20 tonnes or more; the new tax year in April 2027 replaces both with a single 146.63 GBP for every jet from 5.7 tonnes. Jets below 5.7 tonnes, including the M2 and CJ2 in our table, and departures from the Channel Islands owe nothing. Departures from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow move to the Scottish Air Departure Tax in April 2027, with a separate charge on private jets planned for later.

Skavsta, Västerås, Visby and the other airports around Stockholm

Bromma and Arlanda, listed first below, take nearly every private flight to the capital; the other three serve as alternates or for trips that begin or end elsewhere.

Popular routes between the UK and Stockholm, and which way they run empty

Each amount below is what one party pays to have the jet to itself on a sector the operator must fly anyway; single seats are not sold. Flight times cover only the time in the air, not the drive at each end. Stockholm is in range of the smallest jets, so the list runs from the Citation M2 and CJ2 up to the Challenger 350, and a larger jet on a short route can cost more than a small one on a long route. If your dates are fixed, the second list near the top gives the full charter fare for each aircraft.

Business sectors run all year and gather on Monday mornings and Thursday or Friday afternoons. In summer the archipelago adds weekend flights, and the Saturday afternoon closure at Bromma pushes many jets to leave on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Online calculator

If you want to see what your route would cost as a standard charter, so you have something to measure an empty leg against, use the calculator below. Fill in the airports, the dates and the number of passengers, add any preference on aircraft type, and we will send a written calculation by email or messenger. Please check your contact details carefully so that we can reply quickly.

The figure the calculator returns is an estimate for planning. The firm quote comes back from our consultants with the cost broken out line by line, and the price agreed there is the price written into the contract.

If you would rather skip the arithmetic, send us the route and the dates instead and a consultant will come back with both numbers, the charter price and any empty leg that fits.

Border and customs rules for Sweden

Sweden applies EU and Schengen rules at the border and adds a few national ones, which affect British passengers as follows.

• Passport. Your British passport must be less than ten years old on arrival and have three months of validity left beyond your last day in Schengen.
• 90 days in 180. Time in Sweden counts towards the shared Schengen limit, so a British visitor may stay no more than 90 days in any 180.
• EES. On your first Schengen arrival the entry and exit system stores your fingerprints and face; for children under 12 a photograph is enough.
• Alcohol. Travellers from outside the EU may import 4 litres of still wine and 16 of beer, and in addition one litre of spirits or two litres of fortified or sparkling wine. In Sweden you must be at least 20 to bring alcohol in.
• Tobacco and goods. Travellers of 18 and over may bring 200 cigarettes, and other goods worth up to 5,000 kronor arrive duty free by air.
• Food. EU rules keep all British meat and dairy products out, from a picnic ham to a wedge of cheddar.
• Money. Sweden uses the krona and is one of the most cashless countries in Europe, so cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; cash of 10,000 euros or more must be declared.
• Home again. The UK allowance on your return is 270 GBP of goods per adult arriving privately, together with generous drink limits: 42 litres of beer, 18 of wine and 4 of spirits, plus 200 cigarettes. Once the categories change on 1 October 2026, a case of cider is counted against beer and a bottle of champagne against wine.

Empty leg calendar for Stockholm, month by month

Stockholm is a business city all year, with a bright summer season on the archipelago, a quiet July in the offices and a busy December around the Nobel Prize.

The keenest prices come on weekday business routes between Stockholm and London or Scotland, and on summer weekends when jets leave Bromma after an archipelago drop. With dates that cannot move, January, March and October are the months when charter aircraft are easiest to find.

Three situations, three answers

Flying a dog or cat to Sweden

Pets travelling from Britain must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies at least three weeks before the trip, and must travel with an animal health certificate from an official vet, valid for ten days. Sweden does not ask for a tapeworm treatment on the way in, but animals from Britain may enter only at Stockholm Arlanda or Gothenburg Landvetter and must be declared to Swedish Customs through the red channel, so a flight with a pet lands at Arlanda, not Bromma. During the flight your dog or cat rides beside you rather than in a hold.

The way home needs more care. Sweden is not among the countries whose dogs Britain excuses from its tapeworm rule, so a Swedish vet must treat the dog between 24 and 120 hours before it lands in the UK, and only approved carriers and routes may be used. Tell us about a pet at the start, since a few operators do not carry animals.

Private jets to Stockholm: frequently asked questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Say whether the trip is business in Stockholm, a stay in the archipelago or onward travel to Åre or Gotland, and add the dates, the size of the party, the luggage and any pet. We will send back the matching sectors with their full charter fares, and our advice on Bromma or Arlanda, the handler and the transfer into town.